Monday, May 17, 2010

Enough - As You Are - Glorious, In fact

Last weekend I was talking about the effects of media on brain development with MiLo, a friend, father, artist and yogi, I truly admire.

He shared that he used to work in Advertising, editing commercials. He noticed that at the end of the day, his heart felt sunken. He realized that it was due to the bottom line message of ALL the ads: "you are not good enough". You are not enough, so you need X product to fix you - to fill your need. How insidious and heart sinking indeed.

I grew up, like many of us, immersed in the cultural messages that media advertising dishes out. And, for a LONG time, I did not feel good enough. Now, I know better. To the very core of my being, I know I am enough, we all are enough, in fact we are miracles...every one of us.

Yet before I knew this simple truth to be self evident, I "worked it," trying to be enough, achieve enough, give enough, learn enough, look good enough, be smart enough, love enough, etc... I remember one therapist, who asked me straight out "Will you ever be good enough for yourself?" That stopped my world. And I know I am not alone in having walked that path. Perhaps it is a universal growing pang, or maybe a "champagne suffering" ill of the privileged, consumer driven Western Culture. I have discovered that the consumptive, compulsive urge to have, to want, to prove, to do, etc, is a toxic mimic for a deeper hunger that longs to be addressed. We are hungry for what we have forgotten is ever present to nourish us. I love what spiritual teacher, Gurumayi says, "All hunger is hunger for God"( in the most broad, ecumenical sense). It is a natural blessing to be satiated by the innate divine communion that is our birth right. Sometimes we forget to access and rest in what already always is: we are connected, we are enough - at essence level, nothing is lacking.

I wonder, until one hits the real treasure, how much love, food, praise, sex, success, stuff, money, is enough? Is it ever enough if it is not feeding the core need? Or resolving the question, "AM I Enough?" once and for all? We can be driven ambitiously by a compulsion to get and to achieve...or, we can be driven by a path of heart, a calling to serve, an authentic inspiration. More money or bigger success seldom equals having more authentic connection or living our bigger "God Life". I love money and success, yet sometimes their pursuit is enmeshed in misunderstanding and they become golden carrots that direct me externally in attempt to fulfill an inner longing.

And yet of all the questions, this next one gets most of my attention: When we look into our world, what reflects back to us that we are good enough?That in fact we are glorious, unique, and unified all at once?"

How do I answer this question?

The frequency of nature... mountain, sky, thriving ecosystems, the bounty of flora, fauna, color and life, sends out a strong "you are enough" message. The natural world is such an amazing blueprint for wholeness.

Trusted relationships with other beings...where we know, without a doubt that we are loved and lovable, as we are...enough.

Life as Sadhana, which fulfills all our core needs so generously. Living life as spiritual practice, we become like the laughing Buddha. Knowing we are everything, we embody the good life of true prosperity and happiness. Buddha nature IS our natural state. We are love itself . How could it get any better?

At an intimate, cellular, vibrational level, communion with our essential being, mother nature and our beloveds transmits the message "we belong here, we are home, we are whole, we are enough." We are all a part of Something Beautiful (This tune by Alexi Murdoch, transmits this very message in a big way,listen).___________________________________________________________________How else do these messages come to us naturally in the world and how can we increase access and exposure so that knowing we are enough becomes the norm?

Please comment! I want to hear from you. After all, you are the beings reweaving the world, on the leading edge of human consciousness. Where do you find messages of your magnificent wholeness in the world? Let's focus there...that is liberation, that is truth...that is beautiful and that IS enough.

for the first time in i don't know how long, i read the words-- "Sometimes we forget to access and rest in what already always is: we are connected, we are enough - at essence level, nothing is lacking."--words i've read in some form or another in many many places, many many times (and so eloquently expressed by you in your love-nugget blog chunk)-- and didn't feel the panic feeling inside of me...the one that would whine out, "I know those words are true, but I don't FEEL it. I still feel lacking."

No ma'am. THIS TIME I DIDN'T HAVE THE PANIC FEELING!

Instead, the words resonated. Felt real. Felt true. I felt: YES! I GET IT. I FEEL IT. I AM ENOUGH.

My remedy for media is to not watch. I don't bring it into my home, my heart, my sacred spaces. All reflecting the consciousness of not enough-ness, when what is realy and tangible in the natural world is an overwhelming sense of Being Worthy. We are born worthy of being here. We have nothing to prove, and everything to be gained by owning our wholeness, our personal power, or connection with all that is. When I have a doubt I take my shoes off and dance to the seven directions, east, south, west, north, up, down and center. There I find my place and re-connect with my own worthiness of Being. Ahhhhhhhh, freedom! Thank you for your wise words and inspiration to claim all of me...

Beautiful! I am pickin up what you are puttin down! I LOVE that 7 directions dance! Medicine meets ritual meets play meets empowerment! Dance-music-rhythm-those are definitely allies that reflect and invite our wholeness and enoughness. Thanks for your great comments!

I once felt this so deeply ~ not being enough ~ that I typed out in the largest font and the most vibrant colors "BEING WHO I AM IS ENOUGH!". I printed this out and posted it in my bathroom, on mirrors, in my car, at my office, and tucked into various books and other items to "find" throughout my days. I found these daily reminders really helped me "rewire" my brain and my belief system. Now, when I am in danger of forgetting this truth, I go to my yoga mat and tap into my inner wisdom that reminds me that I am perfect in that moment and that I have the ability to create a new and amazing life with each breathe. Thanks for the reminder! Namaste

...It is so sad what the media does to us as women...this contrived notion that our pure existence is not beautiful enough for the universe...that we must look a certain way. I feel it, and I fight it. The struggle (within me) is subsiding; I am winning! The more I reject this pressure, the more beauty I see around me, the more beauty I see within me...and the more I realize I AM ENOUGH! I join the chorus....